I think, a variable geometry fixed wing drone could be interesting in that environment. You could let it take off half way aerodynamic, but then turn it into an massive lawn dart inside the wind field.
Yeah, would be very interesting to see. Quite a few ways to do it. I guess it would be relatively easy to 'mask' it as flaps or airbrakes on the controller. On the other hand, at first look there aren't any kit frames available nowadays that would allow variable wing except the F14 EDF version, so anything else would need to be modded/custom built.
On the other hand, most hobby-grade stuff these days takes off hand-launched and plops itself into a field at 'landing'. I think VTOL might work too, with the bonus that it can be massively overpowered. Not sure about INav, but at least ArduPilot knows to make the conversion mid-flight. Something like in the photo (not mine).
Or, of course, one could just send an overpowered quadcopter , with the 'benefit' of having the aerodynamics of a brick and the disadvantage that it would have to be quite heavy, probably beyond regulations for hobby grade. It's a scale thing. Most racers are small, fly fast, but the flight time is short. Making it bigger means longer flight time and/or more speed. But not like in the video, although I think it's the same guy who shot yesterday's video. Standing in a field with a high powered 2.4 or 5.8 GHz emitter AND maybe some antennas on the head is a big nope for me in such cases. Flying it from inside the car should be fine, the link is directional anyway.
Sure, for flying it close it certainly has to be sturdy, but I guess at least some of the inflow is just laminar flow as long as it's not too close. Should be able to fly upwind at speed, looking back at the tornado, if the camera allows it.